


Unmoored

by Filigranka



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Arranged Marriage - Divine Decree, Dialogue Heavy, F/M, In Medias Res
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29173143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Filigranka/pseuds/Filigranka
Summary: The Exegol's have its own plans for them.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rey
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19
Collections: Shotgun Wedding Flash Exchange





	Unmoored

**Author's Note:**

  * For [firelord65](https://archiveofourown.org/users/firelord65/gifts).



Of all the beings in the galaxy…

‘What were you even doing here?’ Actually, this was a question Rey had wanted to ask for a good couple of minutes, but dealing with Dark Side-touched monsters—now, when the Force-source had been cleansed, attacking with the borderline suicidal aggression—on their way back to the Exegol’s surface sufficiently stopped her.

Hux, still trying to catch a breath, just gestured to the cemetery of the First Order’s ships, looming on the horizon. Ah, right. Rey sighed mentally.

‘No, I don’t mean the planet, I mean the temple!’

‘I could ask you the same,’ Hux sounded vaguely offended. ‘As for me, I just I followed you. Inhabitants of Exegol were disturbed by your presence and I found it pretty suspicious, too.’

‘So you just decided to follow me into the ancient temple of Sith? It’s—it was—dangerous!’

Exasperated sigh. ‘Like you care. And, let me repeat, I followed you. You cleaned my path pretty well.’

They were hardly kind words, but part of Rey’s mind brightened anyway. She still couldn’t get enough of “you did well”, even spoken grudgingly. It was like years on Jakku had created a black hole inside of her, devouring every words she could take as a praise.

‘I came to help this planet heal. Exorcising the main Dark Side’s springs is a first step.’ She pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘Why haven’t you informed Leia—The Resistance—that you survived? We would have taken you out of here!’

‘And straight before War Tribunal, I imagine.’ Hux chuckled dryly. ‘Dark Side or not, I’d prefer if you leave the temples here alone. Exegol’s inhabitants find a Jedi, an enemy, coming into them… blasphemous.’

‘I can explain—’

‘After you slaughtered their neighbours and family members? Unlikely.’

He had a point. He had a point and dealing with sensitive political situations wasn’t Rey’s forte.

‘Right. Perhaps we should put it off, start from a diplomatic mission or something… I’ll have to talk about it with Le—the General. And about that other thing.’

‘There’s no other thing.’ Hux straightened and clasped his hands behind his back. ‘That vision, it was purely… imaginary, right? Religious? So, void from legal perspective.’

‘The Force itself told us…’

‘I have yet to heard about a system or a planet which would recognise even the most vivid hallucinations as legally binding ~~s~~ contracts.’

‘Marriage’s something much more important than just a contract!’

‘Silly idea straight from holodramas. But you’re young.’ The last words came quieter, slower, with a strange cadence, like a half-question, but also less clear, almost slurred. Rey supposed it was Hux’s way of trying to sound gentler. ‘I suppose it’s… healthy. Within the norm.’

Well, Rey _supposed_ getting pretty angry at such “compliment” would be within the norm, too, but she actually found it pretty nice. Not the intent, but the observation. So many things in her life were exceptional, so many things—beings—demanded maturity from her, expectations of hundred generations was bestowed on her, her life now consisted mostly of deciphering ancient tomes to find hints about the location of even older temples to fight with eternal evil or take lessons from eternal benevolent spirits… And back on Jakku, the only times one could have been treated as “young” had been when listening to preaching and complaining of the camp’s elders, usually Unkar Plutt.

‘We have to tell Leia, the General, about it, either way. She might know how to break it…’

‘…I told you, there’s nothing to break.’

‘…and what it really is. I think the Force of this place wanted to… thank you… for cleaning it, and thought spiritual connection would be the best gift.’

‘It failed. I don’t feel spiritual at all. And there’s no “we”.’

‘The marriage itself is a spiritual act.’

Hux puffed with irritation, shaking his head. A dust from his hair fell on the tip of his nose and Rey couldn’t help smiling.

‘Why are you happy?’ Hux sounded irritated, like he’d have preferred if she had got angry.

Still, she wanted to tell him something nice in return. And considering what she Poe told her about his hatred for Kylo Ren…

‘I was imagining Ben’s reaction, when we’ll tell him.’

Hux became white.

‘He’s alive? Oh _fuck_. And we’re—no. Absolutely no, I told you, I’m not going with you.’

He was terrified. Oh, great, so Rey made a misstep.

‘There will be no trial, I promise. We have a lot of defectors, now, and you helped us. The galaxy needs peace and rebuilding, not executions.’ The last words were Leia’s.

‘Of course there will be no trial. Ren will kill me without a one.’

‘That part of him is dead.’ Hux rolled his eyes, but Rey continued. ‘And he’ll be really glad you’re alive. He wants to apologise to all he wronged. To you, too.’ And, judging by Hux’s fear, Rey heavily underestimated the magnitude of that “wrong”.

‘Apologise,’ Hux sounded bitter. ‘I don’t give a fuck about his apology, unless it’ll include slowly strangling him to death.’

Ah-a. So, Ben definitely had allowed her to underestimate it. She understood—coming clean from the Dark Side’s influence was a hard process—but it didn’t mean she wasn’t tired, at times. And she could understand Hux’s reaction better, now; she had seen the same in Poe, parts of it ~~,~~ in Finn.

‘I don’t think his death is an option,’ she sighed, a little overdramatically. ‘But I think a little choking can be arranged.’ She reached to him with her hand, and he winced, so, cursing herself mentally, she opened her palm wider, keeping her fingers as far from each other as she could. ‘I mean, of him, choking of him, not—anybody else.’ She left her hand suspended in the air at the height of Hux’s chest. ‘If you come with me, just for few weeks even, you will be able to talk with the General about help for your people, in the First Order and here. I don’t think I can be a good negotiator on their behalf, and you know what they need better than anybody else. You’ll be allowed to return, later, I promise.’ She smiled. ‘It’s a… spiritual union, not a prison.’

Hux’s fingers twitched. ‘In my experience, dealing with Force-users always is a prison. And Exegol’s inhabitants aren’t my people. I just crashed there and—and the state of their infrastructure was so bad, it was offending. They’re the Order’s allies, after all, I needed to make sure things here were up to our standards.’

‘It’s a harsh world. Not much material. You have to use parts of your fallen ships, right?’

Hux shrugged. ‘The dead have no use of them.’

‘But those who live could use some interplanetary trade. You could give your people a proper burial, then. You could... Just come with me, please.’

To be honest, Rey wasn’t sure why she pleaded. She could leave him here, explain things to Leia, let her send a unit to take Hux by force, if it would be needed. If not, let that spiritual thread the Force had created between them stretch through the whole galaxy, get thinner and thinner and perhaps, one day, dissolve on its own.

But—it seemed like such a waste. And, when their connection had been created, she had a vision of peace and prosperity. Perhaps it had been but a metaphor of general happiness of marriage, of love, but if it had been something literal, how could she let this chance pass?

‘You shouldn’t beg, when you could demand, shouldn’t demand, when you can just take,’ whispered Hux. ‘It’s either a cruel game or a waste of time.’

‘What?’ Rey blinked. ‘No, stop this. I won’t make you come with me. It’d be…’ She trailed off, suddenly reminded of that one time she’d used her powers on Finn. The things between them still hadn’t completely healed. ‘I know how it’d be, after. I don’t want people to treat me like… like that.’

‘I’d not mind.’ Hux grabbed her hand all of sudden. ‘But this an interesting approach. Does Ren say “please” instead of taking, now?’

‘We try to make him.’ Rey smiled.

His eyes widened. ‘I like the sound of it. Does it involve choking?’

‘It might…sometimes.’

Hux beamed. ‘Great. Then, I think I accept your offer.’ He bowed and kissed her hand. ‘My lady.’


End file.
